


5 Times Rodney Met with Elizabeth on the Balcony

by Cosmic_Myths



Series: Ancient Revelations [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: 5 Times, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24585148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Myths/pseuds/Cosmic_Myths
Summary: Or, Rodney and Elizabeth discuss the flashes of images they’ve been seeing.
Series: Ancient Revelations [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777051
Kudos: 5





	5 Times Rodney Met with Elizabeth on the Balcony

**Author's Note:**

> 5 Times Rodney Met with Elizabeth on the Balcony  
> Pairings: None  
> Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis  
> Spoilers: Overall Atlantis. Big spoilers for season 3, specifically Sunday and First Strike(and onward)  
> \-----  
> You do not need to read all the other parts of the series to understand individual stories. They can stand alone, and are in no chronological order.  
> \-----  
> Warning: I have no beta for this fic. All mistakes are my own.

Rodney smiles at Carson’s retreating figure before turning his attention to Elizabeth. She’s discussing something with Sheppard, but Rodney is sure what he has to say is more important. Thus, he walks up to the two. Their conversation hushes and both turn their attention towards him. 

“Ah, Major Sheppard. I’m going to bother Dr. Weir for a second,” Rodney says, his voice full of confidence. 

Elizabeth nods at the Major and he walks away. She turns her attention to Rodney with a questioning gaze. They stare at each other before Rodney turns his gaze to the city. It looks so familiar and he can’t help but relish in the waves of happiness he has to just be back—there it is again, him acting as if he had been to the city before. He has to force himself to focus on the matter at hand. He takes a deep breath and addresses Elizabeth.

“When we stepped foot on Atlantis, I saw something. A flash, an image, maybe even a memory. And before you say I’m crazy, I know you must’ve seen something too.” 

Elizabeth opens her mouth before closing it again. She saw something alright, and when she caught Rodney’s gaze, she knew he saw it as well. It had been so brief, yet somehow felt like an eternity. She was in the gate room of Atlantis and she was talking to Lt. Colonel Carter, Vala—who that was, she didn’t know—, and Teyla. The most unsettling thing was that merely hours after the image, she met Teyla for the first time. As she speaks of her image to Rodney, he reveals that he saw a Vala as well and that the descriptions fit.

“Something’s happening, Rodney. Something bigger than we know. For now, all we can do is wait.” 

Rodney opens his mouth to add something, but Teyla walks up. She asks to talk to Elizabeth about the matter of her people staying in Atlantis. Elizabeth sends a look to Rodney and he knows they really will just have to wait. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

“I remembered your wedding.” 

Elizabeth looks at Rodney in surprise. When he had told her he’d remembered something else, that wasn’t what she expected. They had been in Atlantis for about 4 months by now. Both had been getting small flashes, she’s pretty sure Teyla had been having flashes as well. She’ll have to talk to her about that. Elizabeth hadn’t had too many flashes, around 6 solid memories—that’s what her and Rodney were calling them now— and numerous other things, scents, feelings, sounds, muffled voices, etc. 

“My wedding? That’s… different.” Her voice is both playful and curious. 

Rodney waves her off, though he can't help but agree. Normally his flashes consisted of a simple scene focused around him. His latest flash had occurred in the gateroom and he has a feeling weddings happened there a lot. It had been brief, but like all the other flashes it seemed to last for an eternity. It was an Ancient wedding so some traditions were different from modern weddings. There weren’t rings but it was customary to get a tattoo that signified the joining. As he tells Elizabeth about it, she can’t help but get lost in the description. It had obviously been one of Rodney’s more detailed memories. 

“I think I remembered it because I was the best man. Or, at least the Ancient equivalent of the best man.” Rodney smiles at his discovery, obviously happy to have figured it out. 

“You?” Elizabeth starts with a laugh. “Who was I marrying?”

Rodney smirks at the question. While he’s excited to see Elizabeth’s reaction, he thinks it’d be best to have her figure it out herself. He shakes his head, bids her farewell, and walks away. Elizabeth stares at his retreating back in annoyance before shaking her head and turning to look upon the city.

*~*~*~*~*~*

After a few moments of silence, Rodney turns to look at Elizabeth. The smile is still etched onto his face and he can’t get over the fact that some people back at the SGC remember, at least a bit. His old crew mates, his old friends, his old family. His talk with Dr. Jackson—Daniel, his talk with Daniel— had gone better than he ever expected. At first, he was unsure why the archeologist wanted to speak with him, but when it turned into a talk about the flashes, a confirmation that it was another life and not some big illusion, he felt almost giddy. It was almost concerning. Rodney McKay did not feel giddy. 

“Some people at the SGC remember. Some about the same as us, some less, I’m pretty sure a couple might remember more.”

Elizabeth stares in shock before breaking out into a smile. She can’t help it. Sg1 and a few members of the Atlantis expedition had been on an Ancient battleship together during the war against the Wraith. They were colleagues, more than that, they were friends as close as family. 

“Turns out, Daniel remembered everything after ascending, and even retained some memories after descending. All of us decided to descend together, apparently.” Rodney’s voice holds a familiar air of confidence, even if there’s a little vulnerability by mentioning this.

Elizabeth’s smile brightens. She had thought that ascension fit into play somehow. A process similar to reincarnation it seems. For some reason, knowing she had been right, makes everything better. Not in a sense of pride, but it makes their other life make sense. It makes sense why they’ve been seeing it. 

“This is great news. We should tell the others who remember,” Elizabeth says, determined to share this new information.

Rodney nods his head before excitedly beginning to tell Elizabeth about some of his newest memories. She smiles as he explains them to her. He’s talking with the same excitement that he uses whenever he finds a new piece of Ancient tech to play with. She wonders how much of the Ancient tech Rodney actually helped build in another life. It would certainly be different if they remembered how to operate everything. 

“Elizabeth, are you even listening?” Rodney snaps his fingers in front of her face.

“Sorry, Rodney. I got lost in thought,” She says with sincerity. 

Rodney huffs and begins explaining his memory again. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

“I guess… I guess I just assumed we’d all eventually ascend together again. I assumed that when we died we’d… well… we wouldn’t. After we finished this life, we’d ascend again, spend eternity together again. Weird because I’m not even interested in ascending. M-maybe he did ascend. There wasn’t a body left… oh god there was nothing left. He died because of me, oh god, Elizabeth how do I live with myself?” 

Before Elizabeth can answer the question, Rodney continues his rambling. His eyes are bloodshot, he probably hasn’t been getting much sleep. He looks so broken and lost and Elizabeth can’t help but feel sympathy towards him. She understands, Carson had been a dear friend of hers, but Rodney was blaming himself too much. Today wasn’t the day to tell him that, she already knows he won’t listen. She did try to tell him earlier, but he seems to not be able to process those words. 

They don’t say much that day. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

Elizabeth notices how awkward Rodney seems. He’s fidgety and his eyes can’t seem to stay in one place for long. After a few minutes of this awkward silence, she has enough. 

“Rodney, what did you want to speak to me about?” 

This snaps his attention towards her, and she sees all the regret swimming in his eyes. She knows part of him must blame himself for her fate, afterall, he was the one who reactivated the nanites in her blood. She was upset for a while as well. She was a security risk and she hated the fact that they’d risk Atlantis just for her. Now, though, she’s over it and she’s glad to be back. 

“You’ve already apologized. I already forgave you. Then, what is it?” 

“I needed to know,” He begins before hesitating. “I needed to know if you remembered anything.” 

She smiles, instantly understanding. When Daniel had descended, he was left without any memory. She, however, chose to descend on her own. She kept her memories, including the memories of her previous life which she had before ascending. She knows she remembered everything while ascended, but she can’t access those memories anymore. She’ll just have to regain those memories the normal way. 

“It’s okay, Rodney. I remember, including who I married. I can’t believe you never told me.” Her tone is accusing, but only slightly. 

Rodney grins at her comment. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

She opens her mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a laugh. Rodney looks surprised for a brief moment but ends up chuckling with her. Their laughter bounces off one another and both of them understand that, while things will always change, there will be some that remain the same. 

“So, Carson’s back.” 

“That is a long story,” he says with a sigh. Even so, a small smile tugs at the edge of his lips.

She leans against the railing, partially looking at the sunset, while looking to Rodney for an explanation. 

“So, tell me about it. I have some catching up to do.”


End file.
